五、正误判断题（本大题共10小题，每小题2分，共20分）
Passage 1
In order to produce goods and services, businesses need to buy the required raw materials and equipment. Many firms need to order components or equipment to their own specifications which will later be used to produce a finished product. Firms need reliable suppliers who must be:
Stable. Firms that can not supply goods in time to the purchasing company may mean delays and holdups for customers. Thus the purchasing company should check the financial background of its suppliers.
Able. The purchasing company must investigate whether potential suppliers are able to make the goods required. This may mean looking at the firm’s equipment and staff expertise if a large or important order is being considered. Some purchasing departments may ask for evidence of the firm having done similar work for other organizations before placing an order. Trade directories and specialist magazines are a useful starting point in this research.
Clear. What is required will usually be made clear in a specification. The specification or “spec” will give the exact technical details of what is needed in terms of size, shape, color and performance of the items to be purchased. The supplying firm must then meet this specification exactly.
An important problem all purchasing companies have to deal with is whether to use one or two or several suppliers. By using several suppliers it is argued that competition between them will force prices down. And delays or disruption at one supplier will not affect too much. Arguments against this are that researching various suppliers is time-consuming and expensive, and low prices might mean reduced quality. Using fewer suppliers for larger orders can mean that the purchaser receives greater attention and discount for bulk purchases. The suppliers will be more involved in the firm’s business, too.
42. Being “stable” means sticking to the same supplier with reliable financial background. ( )
43. Supplying firms with rich experience, good equipment and staff expertise can only be found in specialist magazines. ( )
44. A “clear” supplying firm must initially give the purchaser its specifications clearly and in exact technical detail. ( )
45. Having more than one supplier might bring lower price but searching for them might be time-consuming. ( )
46. According to the passage, there exist different opinions whether or not a purchasing company should use more or fewer suppliers for large orders. ( )
Passage 2
Donegal is located in the windswept wilderness. It might seem an odd place to find one of Europe’s most dynamic companies. But a small assembly unit making a muscular stimulation product for leisure and healthcare is blazing a trail. BMR Teoranta—the company title in Irish—has quietly established a market for itself, making products for muscular therapy and body toning using the brand name Slendertone which it bought in 1989.
Mr. Kevin McDonnell, the chairman, chief executive and owner of 95 per cent of the company, is a little vague about the source of his success. Part of it, he says, must be the strong work ethic in the area. He points out that half his employees are from Galswegian families with their Scottish attitudes of thrift and industry. Mr. McDonnell bought the company for $300,000 and BMR sales are now growing at around 50-60 per cent a year.
The medical products business, where growth is less dramatic, but margins are attractive, is seen as the source of the company’s future earnings. In the US alone, the market for muscular stimulation products has jumped from $88m to more than $200m this year.
Many BMR products are not available over the counter but through catalogues. The company is looking at special advertising on video shopping channels. In the US companies like BMR are prohibited from selling medical products over the counter. In Europe this situation is slightly different. BMR, for example, is starting to sell its consumer range in Carrefour superstores in France and its range is available in pharmacies. However, under a European Union ruling similar to US laws, companies that sell such products will have to reequip their factories to meet new health standards. “I know it sounds a bit smart, but our products have always been seen as industry standard,” says Mr. Kevin McDonnell.
The company spends ￡1,000,000 a year on research and development, quite a large sum for a company of its size.
47. A big company would normally set its manufacturing site in a more prosperous area than Donegal. ( )
48. The brand name of this product for muscular therapy is BMR Teoranta in Irish. ( )
49. Mr. McDonnell attributed the success of his company to his management and industry.( )
50. It can be inferred that US laws for selling health products are stricter than the corresponding laws in Europe. ( )
51. If you want to buy a BMR product in France, you may go to the pharmacies. ( )
六、翻译题（本大题12分）
Yet in its current dour mood, Europe risks almost overlooking the revolutionary step forward it has taken in creating the world’s largest and wealthiest barrier-free market—and on a continent where, for centuries, economic battles have led to some of history’s bloodiest wars. Moreover, a failure to reinforce the single market by pushing forward with European integration could lead to an unraveling of what the internal market program has achieved, some observers say.
